Deplorable Republicans Are Defending The Deplorable Roy Moore

While many on the right are condemning Roy Moore, there are far too many prevaricators and defenders out there.

It’s been just about twenty-four hours since The Washington Post came out with its bombshell report in which four women alleged that Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore had made inappropriate sexual advances toward them in the 1980s. This included one woman who was only fourteen years old at the time she alleges that Moore took her to his home and made her strip to her underwear at which point he proceeded to touch her and force her to touch him, and three other women who were slightly older but described similar conduct by Moore as well as being plied with alcohol at a time when they were below the legal age to drink at the time. As he did in the initial report, Moore continues to deny the allegations even though there are corroborating witnesses supporting what these women are saying by relating how they disclosed what happened to friends and family when it happened.

In the midst of the charges, attention has naturally shifted to national Republicans for their response to the charges, and the responses have ranged from strong and forceful to prevaricating to outright deplorable. Several top Republicans such as Mitt Romney, Ohio Governor John Kasich, and Arizona Senator John McCain have strongly denounced Moore and called on him to immediately drop out of the race. Additionally, the Editors of National Review and Townhall.com Editor Guy Benson have strongly denounced Moore and called on him to drop out, as have a number of other conservative commentators.

Things aren’t quite so emphatic on the political side, though.

For the most part, national Republicans aren’t defending Moore, but rather seeking to distance themselves from him while not fully embracing the charges themselves. As I noted yesterday, many top Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and others have said that Moore should drop out of the race if the allegations are proven to be true, a response that Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin rightfully points out to be shameful. As Rubin notes, these Republicans need to ask themselves what exactly it would take to convince them to believe these women. As it stands, we have these women making very serious allegations against Moore and we have witnesses including family and friends who are corroborating those accounts by relating that they were told about the events at the time that they happened. Given the fact that the statute of limitations for either civil or criminal charges has long since passed, this matter is not going to see the inside of a courtroom, and even if it did the evidence wouldn’t be much more than what we already have. So, the question for these national Republicans remains — who are you going to believe, these four women who are alleging something that was obviously traumatic or the word of a man who has a long record of saying outrageous things in public and who was twice removed from the bench for failing to follow the orders of a superior court? This is the test the GOP faces and, so far, it is utterly failing.

Even worse than the prevarication by national Republicans, though, are the responses of Alabama Republicans who are seemingly defending Moore even if the allegations are true.

An Alabama state official on Thursday dismissed a Washington Post report alleging that GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore had initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl decades ago, saying there was an age gap between the biblical Joseph and Mary. The Post also alleged that Moore had pursued three others when they were between the ages of 16 and 18 and he was in his early 30s.

“Take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus,” Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler told The Washington Examiner. “There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here. Maybe just a little bit unusual.”

In the Bible, Mary is the mother of Jesus, and Joseph became her husband. Beliefs about the specific story of Joseph and Mary and Jesus’ birth vary widely in Christian history and across traditions. Mary is referred to in scripture as a virgin, but there is disagreement about what that means. Generally, however, Christians believe that Mary was a virgin when he was born. Joseph is usually referred to as Jesus’ “father” or a father figure.

In reality, of course, the actions that Moore stands accused of, even by the women who were over the age of consent at the time of their contact with Moore was both illegal and immoral, but that’s rather beside the point. One would think that someone using the story of Mary and Joseph to justify the actions of a man accused of molesting an underage girl would be a bridge too far for Republicans, but as Toronto Star political reporter Daniel Dale documented on Twitter, that’s far from the case:

“It was 40 years ago,” Alabama Marion County GOP chair David Hall tells me. “I really don’t see the relevance of it. He was 32. She was supposedly 14. She’s not saying that anything happened other than they kissed.”

Me: “The story said she said he tried to get her to touch his genitals.” Hall: “Well, she said he may have TRIED to. But we’re talking something that somebody SAID happened, 40 years ago. It wouldn’t affect whether or not I’d vote for him.”

If these allegations against Moore were true, Mitch McConnell’s anti-Moore allies would have obviously found them and released them during the primary, Mobile County Republican chairman John Skipper tells me.

“If they said she was a Hillary supporter, then she’d be more dismissed by the local voters here in the state of Alabama. You’d have to paint her as a Trump supporter to be of any credibility,” Covington County GOP Chairman William Blocker says.

“Other than being with an underage person – he didn’t really force himself,” Alabama Geneva County GOP chairman Riley Seibenhener tells me. “I know that’s bad enough, but I don’t know. If he withdraws, it’s five weeks to the election…that would concede it to the Democrat.”

Alabama Geneva County GOP chairman Riley Seibenhener, who called me back, says he doesn’t believe the allegations are true, but if they’re true he won’t support him – but, at the same time, it’s not “forcible rape.”

Most of these responses speak for themselves, of course, but the ones that stand out are those that claim to question the allegations merely because of the time that has elapsed and asking why these women didn’t come forward earlier. As I noted in earlier today on Facebook, there’s a pretty simple reason for that. They didn’t come forward because they were children at the time. They didn’t come forward because this was Alabama in the 1980s. They didn’t come forward because they came from poor families on the other side of the tracks and Moore was an Assistant District Attorney with an up and coming political career. (And most probably was at the time a Democrat like most other public officials in Alabama in the 80s) They didn’t come forward later because they were raising a family and Roy Moore was the freaking Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, They didn’t come forward for the same reason that women and men who have come out with reports about Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and others didn’t come forward. Because they were/are nobodies and the person who assaulted them and took liberties with them were powerful men with powerful friends. It took weeks of reporting for the Washington Post reporters to get these women and the family and friends who have corroborated their reports on the record. Last night, one of the WaPo reporters who wrote the story hinted that there were other reports about Moore they uncovered but the women weren’t ready to come forward. This most likely isn’t over yet, and Republicans and conservatives who defend this man or are prevaricating with statements like “If this is true” are pathetic partisans who deserve to be condemned.

As Rubin notes, the prevaricators and defenders of Roy Moore are hardly a surprise, though:

If you are sickened by this — both the cowering from national Republicans and the repulsive defense of Moore coming from local Republicans — you must not be a GOP “tribalist,” the new brand of Republican who will justify any conduct, excuse any behavior, rationalize any rhetoric, adopt any conspiracy theory and deny any evidence to protect the “tribe.” It’s nothing short of moral nihilism, not to mention disqualifying from public service.

This has been a long time coming. Republicans put up with Trump calling Mexicans rapists, insulting a POW, making racist accusations against a federal judge, attacking Gold Star parents and boasting on tape about sexual abuse of women. They’ve chosen to ignore accounts from more than a dozen women who allege Trump engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior. Republicans have condoned lying, bullying and willful ignorance by a man some of them don’t trust with the authority to launch nuclear war. So would they let a few allegations of sexual exploitation of children get in the way of a Senate seat? You’ve got their answer.

This is what the Republican Party has become. Rather than a party that even pretends to stand by a set of principles, it has largely surrendered to the Trump wing of the party and become a party of sycophants, sellouts, and outright cowards who are now openly defending this man and saying that there are virtually no circumstances under which they would vote for his opponent because he is a Democrat.

If Moore doesn’t drop out of the race, which seems unlikely at this point, there’s very little that can be done to stop him other than by voting for his Democratic opponent. The Alabama Secretary of State’s office has confirmed that the absentee and military ballots with his name on them have already been mailed, and the statutory period during which the state’s Republican Party could have removed him passed weeks ago. Some have suggested that Luther Strange, who was appointed to fill the Senate seat by the states former Governor but lost the primary to Moore last month, could mount a write-in campaign, but while that is apparently still possible under state law, the odds that it would be successful are minimal at best. Given that, there are only two choices for Alabama voters, Roy Moore or Doug Jones. Roy Moore was an Assistant District Attorney who molested a 14-year-old girl. Doug Jones was a U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan members who killed four African-American girls in 1963. Alabama Republicans are supporting the child molester. Let that sink in.

To trot an old cliche, in other news water is wet. The Republicans in Congress have consistently shown that they put party over country. Even if you were to take the view that the Trump – Russia connection is coincidence, a sane Republican party would at least want a serious investigation into the matter. Instead, they want to investigate … Hillary Clinton again.

Well, here’s a good one: The Gateway Pundit, that font of semi-literate paranoid hysteria, is “reporting” that the wife of a “22-year Navy veteran” was offered “1000s” of dollars by a Washington Post reporter named “Beth” to claim that Moore made inappropriate sexual advances to her. The woman is purported to have taped the conversation and taken a photo of Beth, but declines to take this “evidence” to the FBI or the DOJ because it’s well-known they’re corrupt and dishonest.

Party over anything I guess. Including child molestation. And Moore will probably win.

A poll conducted last night had the two candidates tied, even after this revelation.

The Republicans I’ve seen talking about this can’t seem to stop mentioning Bill Clinton, even though Michael nailed it in the other thread: an adulterous relationship with a consenting adult in your office is stupid, but it’s not illegal. Just ask Gingrich and his wife, the Vatican ambassador.

This is a whole ‘nother level of disgusting and illegal behavior. But IOKIYAR.

I am so glad I washed my hands of this party years ago. I don’t understand how anyone can call themselves a Republican at this point, if this is what they are defending.

Mitt Romney, Evan McMullin, and Rick Wilson are decent for calling this out. (Flake, I’m still angry at for confirming that 36 year old with only 3 years of practicing law under his belt to a federal judgeship–a lifetime appointment. If he really wants to stick it to Trump, standing up to nonsense like that judicial appointment–ironically enough in Alabama–would be a good place to start.)

@CSK: Philip Bump at WaPo noted that the tweet that led to that “tip” wasn’t exactly written in normal English vernacular. I suspect our Russian trolls are having a field day trying to wind up the Pizzagate types.

There is no bottom to the GOP anymore, none at all. They defend a child molester. They elect a pig of a man who openly despises women and brags of his ability to ‘grab ’em by the pussy’ because he’s famous. They praise Nazis who run a woman down in Charlottesville. They cover up for treason at the highest levels of government.

There is no ‘whatabout’ for this. There is no Democratic equivalent. The Party of Lincoln and Reagan is now the party of Nazis, traitors and child molesters.

Of course, this is entirely unsurprising. I mean, who would have been naive enough to think it would be otherwise?

I do think, however, this particular example quite clearly illustrates what “morality” in GOP circles is used for.

It is a cudgel to batter those who want to question traditional power relations, not just in national politics, but also locally and in family relations.

From that perspective, there is just no point in employing moral objections against a representative of traditional power relations such as Moore.

Morality is something you use to keep the archetypal “other” in line, never, ever yourself.

The attitude of Evangelicals towards Trump is another prime example of this mechanism. Trump is “one of them,” so every instance of even extremely bad behavior is immediately ignored/forgiven, yet at the same time, liberals, Mexicans, feminists. uppity NFL players, etc., can be denounced at will on account of their “loose morals.”

That’s also why the accusation of hypocrisy toward right-wingers never seems to land: “morality” isn’t even supposed to apply to them. It’s always, ALWAYS only directed at the other.

So, when Democrats supported and defended Bill Clinton in the 90s EVEN AFTER HE WAS ACCUSED OF RAPE…that was Donald Trump’s fault?

And when Democrats looks the other way for decades when it came to Ted Kennedy…Trump again?

Wow. What can’t the man do?

And in case I’m being too subtle, there’s a whole lot you can blame the GOP, conservatives, and Trump. Blindly defending and excusing men for gross sexual misconduct and assault? Yeah, that’s not really just them.

Well, here’s a good one: The Gateway Pundit, that font of semi-literate paranoid hysteria, is “reporting” that the wife of a “22-year Navy veteran” was offered “1000s” of dollars by a Washington Post reporter named “Beth” to claim that Moore made inappropriate sexual advances to her.

Gateway Pundit and InfoWars are part of the Mainstream FakeNews Media. This (from Newsweek) is typical of Gateway:

Gateway Pundit, a well-trafficked right wing blog that “has 15 million visits each month,” by its own account, ran with it, reporting the joke as a straightforward news story with the headline, “ANTIFA Leader: “November 4th […] millions of antifa supersoldiers will behead all white parents.”

Basically, Gateway Pundit and InfoWars make s*** up constantly, and they know that 27% of voters, or put another way, 50% of Republicans, are buying it.

And in case I’m being too subtle, there’s a whole lot you can blame the GOP, conservatives, and Trump. Blindly defending and excusing men for gross sexual misconduct and assault? Yeah, that’s not really just them.

This, the allegations against Judge Roy Moore, is clearly a Republican problem, although I’m sure you can make the case that Hillary shares the blame here.

Me? I’m hoping that Moore decides to go all in and refuses to step aside for a write-in of whomever Alabama Republicans deem to be acceptable. His presence on the campaign trail will make for great media theater and interesting newscrawls on FoxNews, CNN and MSNBC.

To be entirely honest, I would sooner vote for a child molester than a Republican, at least for any significant office — the Republican can do significant damage (cutting children’s health insurance, etc) to more people, while the child molester does more severe damage to a smaller number.

I would prefer a non-molesting candidate, of course, but sometimes you have to hold your nose a little tighter.

So some Moore voters might be making a more nuanced, lesser-of-two-evils choice. “He may molest children, but he’s also opposed to abortion.” Or “he may molest children, but he also wants to cut my taxes”. Or “he may molest children, but he will also refuse to fund CHIP.”

Anthony Wiener is in jail for sexting a minor. Roy Moore is about to become a U.S. Senator after actually molesting a child. IDNGAF what the political party is, this is wrong.

And on that note, @MBunge: , do you understand that there is a difference between a child, who by the sole fact of her age, cannot consent? While you’re rambling about Clinton and Kennedy, that fact remains. CHILD. That is the problem, and yes, it IS a problem for the *Republican Party* because people are defending this disgusting and ILLEGAL behavior.

One thread I’d like to pull on here that I’m suprised no one else has commented on: the 14 year old said her mom was in court when the DA suddenly shows up going “Well, I’ll ‘babysit’ this complete stranger’s daughter while she’s on trial”.

Does anyone else think he was abusing his office to obtain a quid pro quo from defendants to help them out of a legal bind in exchange for “alone time” with their teen daughters?

Love how the Trumpturds like Bunge and Paul L. are sticking with their man. I hope Moore doesn’t pull out, I hope he stays in the race so he can display to Americans what the Republican party has become.

I’m in the unique position of believing both Kathleen Willey and Anita Hill, but I have to say the charges against Moore have far more corroborating testimony than either of these two. Four women, thirty witnesses, consistent stories. Moore’s defense that dating teens “would have been out of my customary behavior” isn’t exactly an “Oh, hell no!”

And in his interview with Hannity, he said he expects more stories to come out, which means he knows there are more women out there to accuse him.

Well of course they’re supporting Moore. Ask your self, as a Republican of course, would you support a guy who convicted some Klansmen just because they carried out justice on 4 criminal negroes (using the polite language of 1964), or would it be better to support a highly regarded officer of the court who has been falsely accused by some white trash social climber?

Isn’t the answer obvious? Remember the old saying: “a teenager who dates a 30 year-old man is only after one thing. “

I said a couple weeks ago that @MBunge would defend Trump if he raped a child on the White House lawn. I’m sure some thought that was hyperbole.

The Trump Cultists would not only defend Trump if he were filmed raping a child, they would defend Trump if he burned the Constitution; if he opened concentration camps for dissidents and Muslims and Africa-Americans. @MBunge would defend a new Holocaust if Trump ordered it. He no longer exists as a thinking human, he’s a robot, a brain-dead cultist.

There is literally nothing too depraved for out little friend @MBunge. If ordered he would kill every single one of us here. And if you think that’s hyperbole, see paragraph #1.

Would that be the Harvey Milk who was murdered by a homophobe FORTY YEARS AGO???

My God, the depths to which Republicans will go to justify electing a child molester while claiming moral superiority. Sometimes I hope that everything Roy Moore says about the afterlife is true, so that you and Bunge and he can spend eternity burning in hell…

I find her story to be credible. It sounds entirely plausible that he would act that way. She told friends about it at the time. Starr found that there wasn’t enough evidence for prosecution – I agree there isn’t – but that doesn’t mean he (or I or you) should conclude that her story is not credible.

I am still conservative/libertarian and always will be. But I am so fricking relieved I left the Republican Party 13 years ago. They’ve descended into the deepest morass I can remember in politics. Disgraceful.

I voted for Nixon in 1972. I am permanently forbidden stones to throw at the redeemed penitents.

Fight or flight is the essential dilemma, for much of life, certainly for humans. I’ve always been of the, “OK, this looks bad, let’s go somewhere else,” tribe. Both types are necessary to human survival. Someone’s got to defend that sod hut in Nebraska from the original owners. And someone’s got to wonder what’s over there, over where there’s room service, let’s say.

We “screw you guys I’m going home” types always get a bad rap. But sometimes you dodge a bullet, and when you do, life is sweet. It’s like in 1939 being able to say, “yeah, I left the party (communist or nazi) long ago.” It is sadly rare to see people with the integrity to step away at the right time. Right now heroism is Republicans willing to stand alone rather than stand for this.

Deplorable is as deplorable does. Right now a lot of Alabama GOP fit the category very nicely.

Interestingly enough that might not so universal outside of Alabama; even a very right wing site like National Review has several articles criticizing Moore, including one saying anyone supporting Moore is disgusting. It gives me a little hope for reappearance of sanity in the GOP.

No one under the age of 40(?) even voted for Clinton. Not sure how he’s relevant to this anyway. Unless you are saying that Moore’s behavior in the 80s was OK because Clinton did something bad in the 90s.

I suppose we should expect to see Milo Y-whatever-his-name-is showing up in Alabama to campaign for Moore. Obviously if you’re going after the child molester vote, he’s the guy you want beside you. Or maybe Dennis Hastert has some time? Is he out of prison yet?

When I first heard about the allegations, I expected plenty of GOP people would defend Moore. But I expected the defense to be by the typical attacking the accusers. The number of people defending the actions as if they weren’t that big of a deal or were even acceptable behavior has shocked even my cynicism.

Republicans and their Evangelical base have demonstrated in the last couple years what total trash their “family values” and “Christian morals” are. Their claims of saving the country from moral decay is now especially hilarious since the moral decay is themselves.

I am still conservative/libertarian and always will be. But I am so fricking relieved I left the Republican Party 13 years ago. They’ve descended into the deepest morass I can remember in politics. Disgraceful.

Kudos for that.

On Veterans Day Trump insulted US intelligence agencies and supported Putin.

When shown evidence of Russian interference in our election Mitch McConnell did nothing, threatened to make it out as a Democratic dirty trick if the administration did anything, and is impeding investigations into it.

Rex Tillerson is destroying the State Department, presumably because they’d oppose ending sanctions that stopped exploitation of Exxon’s big Russia deal and likely other acts he and Trump intend.

While the political, and moral, morass is bad enough, the real issue is the Republicans’ fwcking treason.

@rachel: I’m pretty steamed about that. That kid is clearly unqualified, and I am flat-out astonished that the Judiciary committee has advanced his appointment. He’s been practicing law for three years, and has never tried a case or filed a motion, and he’s up for a lifetime appointment? This is clearly an attempt to stack the courts with young ideologues, qualifications be damned.

They’ve descended into the deepest morass I can remember in politics. Disgraceful.

Deeper than the days when William F. Buckley on the pages of the National Review was saying that Southern Whites were correct in suppressing black voter registration because blacks were intellectually unqualified to vote?

ETA: Conservatives have always been disgraceful. We just ignored it before.

Dan White was Roman Catholic. His motive for shooting Milk (and Mayor Moscone) was primarily depression turned into rage at a sense of personal and political betrayal. However, the San Francisco Police Department was strongly anti-gay at the time and they made it clear that they were not particularly upset about Milk’s death.

@Just ‘nutha ig’nint cracker: Buckley was a racist with fancy vocabulary and sentence structure. Trump and Moore are racists who talk like third-graders. It’s a little harder for the he-said-she-said media to look past that.

@Mister Bluster: One constitutional amendment I would like to see (but which will never happen) is an amendment stating that, if a member of Congress is convicted of a federal crime while in office, that member’s seat will remain vacant until the next regular election for the post; no special elections or interim appointments will be allowed. In addition, the state loses the electoral vote corresponding to that member’s seat until the next regular election for the post.